Violet Robinson

If you are fortunate enough to own or be renting a property that has enough space and large enough bathrooms to fit a double vanity unit in to it, then I highly recommend that you do just that and go through the time, effort and expense to rip out the current bathroom wash basin unit that you have in your bathroom or perhaps bathrooms and find yourself a stunning double basin vanity unit that perfectly fits with yours and if you have one, your partners taste. There are many benefits that will come with fitting your bathroom with a double basin vanity unit, so the extra cost is certainly worth it in my opinion and I am very confident that you will have the same opinion after fitting one, that is, if you don’t already agree with me.

With two basins fitted to your bathroom vanity unit, you can finally put an end to any arguments that you may have been having with your partner about who can brush their teeth, shave, do their make-up – ie; use the bathroom first. Instead you can both simultaneously use the bathroom basins together and maybe enjoy each other’s company while you do, you might find it is a great place to catch up with each other over the day’s events. It certainly has done wonders for my relationship and maybe it will do the same for yours.

Another benefit of the two basin units is that it allows you to be using one for soaking some clothes or washing something, or just something other than the normal daily bathroom basin usage, while you keep the other available for the usual face washing, teeth brushing and anything else you need to use it for on the daily. Before we had the double basin unit, I used to come to brush my teeth in the evening only to find that my partner had filled up the sink with water in preparation for something else she had planned and this was always another potential risk of an argument which you just don’t need, last thing at night just before bed – so get a double basin unit and forget about any potential argument risks just like this.

Having a large vanity unit with double bathroom basins also means that you have a much larger worktop surface, which is the perfect place to store a number of toiletries that you would have otherwise been forced to store away in a cabinet or drawer, or some kind of shelving you might have fitted or purchased for your bathroom. If you have enough of a budget, you can also choose to invest in something luxurious like a Marble or Quartz, or perhaps Onyx topped double basin vanity unit, which look absolutely amazing and can really bring a bathroom to life. This will bring more of a sense of pride to your home and is a great way to start and finish each day, enjoying to talk into your stunning, luxury styled bathroom that will bring a sense of confidence to your personality.

With the large vanity unit, also comes a lot more storage space within it, so not only do you have the vast amount more work surface space, but you also have a huge amount of space inside the unit – most will come with drawers and cupboard space. So you can comfortably fit in and store all your bathroom necessities, like bathroom towels, razors, hairdryers, hair clippers, straighteners and the rest. This extra storage space can be a real problem solver and means that you are kind of killing two birds with one stone – you needn’t invest in a bathroom vanity unit and then a storage unit as you have everything you need all in the one large double basin vanity unit.

I am sure you can maybe think of other benefits? I am sure I could if I spent some more time thinking about it, but I hope that the reasons I have provided above are sufficient in persuading you that it makes sense that you purchase and fit a double basin vanity unit into your bathroom if you have enough space in it to fit one.

Something that many people seem to forget or overlook when re-designing or renovating their bathroom/bathrooms is that they need to, or they should consider what amount of space that they need for providing storage solutions for whatever toiletries, cleaning products, medicines, perfumes, cosmetics, towels and whatever else they tend to keep within the bathroom. It is important that you give this some good thought as it doesn’t make sense to go through all the time, effort and expense of redesigning your bathroom to finally find that you have nowhere, or not enough room for properly storing all the usual items that you would ideally like you have within the bathroom space. For some people it can actually require quite a substantial volume of space to offer room for everything, while others are more minimalistic and will not need much more than a small cabinet and perhaps a shelf or two for tooth brushes, shaving items and soaps.

Things that you should consider as storage solutions within your bathroom should/would usually be:

A wall hung cabinet, with or without a mirror – this type of bathroom unit would usually have a mirror fitted to the front and would offer storage space inside which is perfect for medicines, shaving items, perfumes and gels Etc. The mirror is also necessary for both men and women.

An over the basin shelf – the shelf over the basin is perfect for storing things you use daily and need easy access to. So this would be tooth brushes, tooth pastes, razors, ear buds, dental floss Etc.

A laundry basket – some people like to have their laundry basket stored within their bathroom, while others prefer to keep the laundry baskets in bedrooms – what type of person are you?

A bathroom vanity unit – The bathroom vanity unit with basin on top can also provide ample storage space within cupboards and some also are fitted with 1 or 2 or more drawers. Especially if you fit a double basin vanity unit into your bathroom, as these will (usually) come with a lot of storage space within them.

Oak or solid wood storage units – If you need extra space for towels or other items then you should invest in a storage unit that will offer extra cupboard and drawer storage space solutions.

Tall storage unit with shelving – If you have a lot of bathroom items to store and also perhaps photos/pictures and other decorative items that you want space for, then you should probably consider a tall storage cabinet with shelving on top.

If there is anything I have missed then please let me know, but I think I have covered pretty much all common bathroom storage solutions? If you want to get any of the above mentioned units then you can actually find all in one place at the Bathrooms and More Store website which is a highly recommended online bathroom and home furniture store.

While I have been considering this very question while planning my own bathroom renovation, I kind of opened up a can of worms for myself. Usually I would not give much thought to the actual toilet to be fitted in the bathroom, or would leave the decision up to someone else, but on this occasion I started thinking about the different choices that may now be available with all the modern technology so I decided to start looking around myself. Another thing that made me keener on getting involved with the decision making for the type and style of toilet to fit into the new bathroom is due to me becoming more conscious about the environment. Like most people these days, I care a lot about the wellbeing on the environment and about doing ‘my bit’ towards helping the world plan for a better tomorrow. I knew that there would be new modern designs of toilets that would save a lot more water than the traditional, common toilets that I have always been used to, I had heard people talking of new toilet and basin designs that would share the water; so used basin water would go into the toilet tank for example. Another funky new toilet design that I came across during my search, was a toilet & clothes washing machine combo – the used water from the washing machine gets recycled and added to the toilet tank, waiting flushing.

Something else that I learned of recently was that the traditional height of toilets has always been a bit off in the west and it works against us when trying to go about our business while sitting down; the toilet sitting position should be lowered so that a person is in more of a squatting position when sitting on the toilet bowl. So in light of this new bit of information, I wanted to also see if I could find myself a design of toilet that would be a bit lower than I was used to, and I was pleased to find many different options. One design that really caught my eye, were the tankless toilet designs – they take up less space, use less water and offer a lower sitting height, while not losing any flushing power.

Take a look at the new designs and options yourself if you haven’t already, I am sure you will be quite surprised by what you see, as I was.

For anyone that is currently planning, starting or working through a bathroom renovation, I wanted to make sure that you are all clear about one specific thing that recently dawned on me; after a thoroughly comfortable and enjoyable couple of nights during a recent stay at a fairly high-end hotel, I noticed when walking out of the shower that the floor tiles of the bathroom where in fact warm, actually just warm enough for me to get maximum pleasure from this touch of luxury, but not too warm for me to start worrying about the skin on my feet being harmed and in a way – cooked. This was during a stay in the South of Argentina, visiting Patagonia, so the outside was impressively cold, which made this unexpected touch of luxury and the warm sensation an experience that I felt very grateful for and to say the least I was very satisfied with the hotel in general.

The experience I had brought me to the realization that under floor/under tile heating was a real game changer in respect of what I would desire in my ideal bathroom, and what I regarded as necessary bathroom facilities; I now have the opinion that all UK bathrooms should be fitted with heating beneath the flooring or bathroom tiling due to the long and aggressive winter months. Having heating beneath the flooring in the bathrooms across the UK would make the winter bathing experience less daunting and more acceptable for many, so this would lead to a nation of cleaner people J – I feel this is more than a valid enough reason for this bathroom function to be added to the list of essentials that all bathrooms need to adhere to in order to be deemed a being ‘fit for use’ Perhaps this could even be a movement that the Government in the UK could and should be backing; providing bathroom renovation grants to all and any UK homeowners wanting/needing to replace their current bathroom flooring or tiling with a system that will provide the under floor heating.

You will likely have come across wet room designed bathrooms while staying in a hotel at some point, and if not, then just to make sure you know what I am referring to; a wet room is a bathroom in which the shower is open or set behind a single wall and fitted so that its floor area is flush with the floor of the rest of the room, the water then drains away through an outlet in the floor located in the chosen area of the room that all floor tiles will subtly curve towards. I hope that makes things more clearly imaginable for you? – if not, a picture will.

I think they are great, and are very efficient when it comes to having to clean the room as you can just literally splash water everywhere and know that all the dirt and water will easily be guided down the drain that has been purposefully fitted in the ideal location of the room. They also offer a modern, contemporary look and feel to a home that I am quite attracted to, a style that is minimalistic and simplistic.

You can of course also still fit a bathtub into a wet room, and it will not take away from the idea behind the design. I just think for my own home, and in fitting with my personal taste, I would go without the bathtub and opt for just having a shower area. This goes with the fast paced life we tend to live in these days. If fitting a bathtub, I would recommend one that is free standing and more rounded than lengthy, but this is just my opinion and suited to my personal taste.

A wall hung vanity unit, with stone top is ideal for the basin area and then a large fitted mirror to offer the sense of more space and for giving the entire room more light. Also a shaving light strip fitted to the top of the mirror for the finishing touch to a perfect, modern bathroom.

After selecting, buying and fitting your chosen bathroom furniture and fittings, completing the stylish tiling patterns and adding the last coat of new, fresh water resistant paint, you will be nearing the end of what would have been a challenging task. Although there may have been an important part that is necessary for achieving the perfect bathroom experience that has been overlooked; the lighting, or lighting system!

Making sure your bathroom is fitted with a quality lighting system is more important than most people think, and ideally it is best to have two or three lighting systems so that you are well covered for all situations. Perhaps you are thinking that having three different lighting solutions in the bathroom is going a bit too far and is a bit excessive, but actually all three are quite necessary for a bathroom that will offer the ‘perfect experience’ for all occasions.

The most obvious lighting solution that all bathrooms will have and actually every room of the property will have, is the usual ceiling lighting. For the bathroom though, you will sometimes come across pull string on/off switches and also it is quite popular to use dimming switches in the bathroom, to give you the option of setting a low lighting for more of a relaxing experience. For the ceiling lighting, my advice is to ensure that the lighting is powerful and plentiful enough to offer a bright light to the entire bathroom, and as we are going to fit 3 lighting systems in this bathroom, you needn’t worry about fitting the dimming switch.

Fitting a shaving light to the mirror or above the mirror will be especially important if there will be one or more adult males making use of the bathroom. Shaving using just the ceiling light can be quite frustrating and inefficient. The shaving light is also useful for when applying make-up and for any other circumstances when needing to focus on the face.

Mood lighting – You may have noticed in recent years that there are more mood lighting systems being fitted to bathrooms and other rooms of the more modern looking properties, and they can work very well. You need to ensure you invest in a good quality system and carefully plan out where you will be fitting the lighting strips and also choose the colours that help you feel relaxed and calm.

So, the 3rd lighting system that you may not have been considering before will likely have been the mood lighting system. The advances in technology and equipment have made mood lighting much more affordable as well as now being of a much better quality. So more and more people are choosing to fit their bathrooms with some mood lighting, giving them the option of soaking in a warm relaxing bubble bath, and reaching an elevated level of calmness and comfort with the perfect lighting for them.

So you are finally going ahead with the challenging task of redesigning and renovating the bathroom at home, and after many hours of discussions, browsing countless shops online and offline and comparing prices up and down the country, just when you think you are finally finished with the planning and can move on to stage two; the buying & fitting, somebody goes ahead and ruins your day by throwing in the spanner of a question, being ‘so, are you choosing to tile the bathroom walls or will you be painting them?’ All of a sudden you are back at the drawing board, back online and re-evaluating how much you are spending and what exactly you are spending it on. Don’t forget also, that if you decide that you are going to be painting the bathroom walls, then you need to get yourself some mold resistant paint, which is specially formulated for using in bathrooms. If you are finding it tricky to find the right colour for your bathroom that is also mold resistant, then you can actually also use paint with a semi-gloss or high-gloss finish, as these two types of paint will also offer some resistance to the damp conditions, and although they are not in-fact mold resistant, they are easily wiped down and cleaned. So if you spend a little time now and again just caring for your bathroom and maintaining a clean room, then you will be able to avoid any issues with mold for many years to come.

Tiling the bathroom will probably be a little more daunting and also expensive, however if it is done right it can make a huge difference to the overall finish of the bathroom; turning a normal home bathroom into an exquisite, classy bathroom that gives off a sense of luxury & success. Some people also choose to tile their bathroom floors, which again when done well can really come off looking fantastic, while also being easy to clean and maintain. There are so many styles and types of tiles you can choose from in today’s market too which will make this task quite fun, but also quite tricky at the same time. You can even buy and tile your bathroom with 3-D tiles which can provide quite an interesting look and feel to the room. Ultimately, if you choose to tile the bathroom instead of paint it, then you are opening up yourself to a great many more options and will be allowing yourself to be a lot more creative with what you do in relation to the tiling. So if you are a creative person at heart, then you should probably go with tiling and enjoy the challenge.

If you are currently re-designing or renovating your bathroom at home, then one item of furniture that you should certainly consider investing in is a wall hung mirrored cabinet. The size and style of cabinet will depend on the size of the bathroom and the style of the rest of the fittings that you have already installed or are planning on installing. The more common and most popular mirrored cabinets will come as either a one door cabinet with one mirror covering that entire door, or a two door cabinet that will open from the middle, with a mirror on each door, so in effect providing two small mirrors; most of the time each door will have a framed edging, although some double door mirrored bathroom cabinets will have a more contemporary look, with the mirrors covering the entire surface, providing clean sharp edges and no frame. Most cabinets will also have a small light fitted to the inside of the cabinet for lighting up the storage space as well as in some cases, providing a back-light for the mirrors if necessary.

The most suitable and common place to hang the mirrored cabinet of your choice would be above the vanity unit and/bathroom basin. Hanging the cabinet above your bathroom sink and vanity unit (if you have one) makes perfect, logical sense as it then can be used as your shaving/make-up mirror and is probably the most convenient place for storing toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpastes. Having all your bathroom products in this one place is very handy and also it helps to avoid making the bathroom and bathroom basin area too cluttered and messy. Some cabinets, especially the double door styled cabinets, offer a great amount of storage space, so you will be pleasantly surprised with just how many items you can neatly store away inside, so you know where everything is and it will always be within reaching distance when standing in front of the mirror, which is where most of us spend more of our time.

Nearly everyone knows the trick (if you can even call is a trick) of using a mirror in a room to create the illusion of more space, and it certainly does work. Some plans in this space making approach work better than others though, so you need to give it some thought and certainly take the room dimensions you are focusing on into consideration, as well as the current lighting options and colours of the walls. For the best results in both space creation and light reflection, you need opt for the light colours, best as most people know, is white. White walls and ceilings will really add the feeling of more space to a room and as the colour white reflects all light, if you get your angles right, then your mirror or perhaps mirrors can have light bouncing all around your bathroom making it the brightest room in your home, or possible the brightest room in the entire neighborhood.

The type of mirror that you should be aiming for is the large wall hung style of mirror. If you can find and afford one that has an invisible edge or edge without a frame, then that is even better as the Mirror will fade into the wall and become almost invisible. The bigger the mirror the better too, as it will of course be able to reflect more light and create more space. You also need to think about which wall you will be fitting it on – you want it to be a wall that will reflect the light coming in from the window, but at the same time, it needs to be at some kind of angle to the window, otherwise you run the risk of just reflecting the light straight back out the window and miss the purpose of lighting up the room.

After a long week at work there are not many things I enjoy more than a long hot soak in the bath, to wash away the weeks aches and pains and prepare myself for a nice relaxing weekend. It is important to treat yourself from time to time and when you have time, you should make a little effort to treat yourself during bathing. Too many people rush in and out of the bath and/or shower and in general, they never give themselves time to unwind and relax – ultimately this kind of lifestyle can end up in illness long feelings of stress and anxiety which is of course not good for ones wellbeing. So below I am offering some tips and suggestions for how you can create a perfect bathing experience for yourself or a loved one and enjoy a calming feeling of total relaxation.

Lighting

It is important to set the mood with the right level of lighting – you don’t want it to be too bright in there, as this will prevent your mind from reaching a calm, sleepy state, it is also important however to be careful not to make it too dark as it can bring around a feeling of frustration when not being able to see further than a foot away. So, if you have a light dimmer switch, you can bring the lights down to a suitable level, otherwise you can go out and buy yourself some big candles that give off a good level of light, if you can find some scented candles then even better.

Essential Oils

If you have never tried using essential oils then you are missing out – they do actually have many uses; from therapeutic to medicinal, some to help you sleep better and others to awaken your senses. In this case I would advise getting yourself some lavender or chamomile 100% certified essential oils and you should also buy yourself a small oil burner and some tea light candles – you can then add water and a few drops of the essential oil into the oil burner, then enjoy the relaxing, stress relieving effects of the essential oil of your choice.

Bath Salts

To help soothe your body and rid yourself of any aches or pains you may have gained over the week, you should purchase some bath salts – I always find Radox bath salts to be a great option. Add the bath salts into the bath while it is running, so it mixes well and enjoy the deep soak and lovely aroma.

Music

I would recommend preparing for the bath by finding some nice soothing music, you will be able to find all sorts of specialized music within Youtube – music that has specifically been designed for helping to relax the senses and promote a feeling of happiness and wellbeing. Find the right music that suits your taste and have it playing at a relatively low level – not so quiet that you cannot hear it, but not so loud that you cannot hear anything else.